David Carradine

So we come to that time of year when we list all of the TV celebrities that have died over the past year. We hear about these people passing away at various points of the year (sometimes a few the same week), but it's really odd to see them all listed together at once like you'll see after the jump.

You knew that when South Park returned it would work in one of the many celebrity deaths that happened over the past several months. But last night's episode actually had, well, all of them: Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, David Carradine, and all the others. Ike started to see their ghosts and was sent to a psychiatrist for it. Here's the full episode. Chipotlaway is disgusting but hysterical.

OK, I have to admit that I was a little uneasy watching David Carradine's performance last night. Maybe it's the fact that he died just last week, but watching him in a wheelchair, unable to move and just staring into space, that was a little strange.

I also have to say I'm not a fan of this show's hero. What's up with that evil smile at inappropriate moments and his overall weird demeanor? Is he always like that?

I'm wondering if David Carradine's guest role on this tomorrow's Mental will be met with controversy. Is it exploitative to air this episode so soon after his death? A tribute? Should they shelve it forever? Here's a sneak peek of the episode.

The cause of death hasn't been confirmed yet. First reports said that there was no cause of death, then his manager said it was natural causes, and now some news outlets are saying he committed suicide by hanging. I'm sure we'll find out more news later today.

Besides his run on Kung Fu, Carradine made a ton of movies, including the Kill Bill films, Crank: High Voltage, Death Race 2000, Mean Streets, Bound For Glory, The Long Riders, Grey Lady Down and many others. He was also in many TV shows over the years, including Alias, Night Gallery, Ironside, Gunsmoke, Medium, and King of the Hill. He also has a role as Gideon in FOX's summer series Mental.

For the first time since their roles in Kill Bill, David Carradine and Daryl Hannah will reunite for Kung Fu Killer. This two-part original movie miniseries is set to premiere on Spike TV this August. The movie is set in the late 1920s in China, before the Communist reign. Carradine will play White Crane, the orphaned son of Western missionaries who was raised by a monk to become a spiritual leader and master in martial arts.

In the first installment, White Crane will seek revenge on the mercenaries who raid his temple and murder his mentor. He infiltrates the Shanghai underworld. There he'll meet Jane Marshall, played by Daryl Hannah, a Brooklyn lounge singer who is in China on her own journey. She is trying to recover her kidnapped brother, held hostage by Kahn Xin, leader of the same mercenaries who ransacked White Crane's temple.

Here on TV Squad we already covered the launch of In2TV, a new service that lets you indulge your nostalgia for old shows via
the magic of streaming video. Last night, I got to indulge in a little nostalgia first hand at the In2TV launch party. I
am the worst person to send to events like this; I'm a lurker, too shy to talk to anyone and not the best with a camera,
but as the only L.A.-based member of TV Squad, it was my honor to check out the scene.

The event took
place at the Museum of Television and Radio in Beverly Hills. Gabe Kaplan took the stage, made a few jokes about the
new Welcome Back, Kotter movie and showed off the In2TV concept. He was a good sport and even brought out a
paper airplane to put on his head, joking that it didn't stick as well as it used to (aw, Gabe, you're thin on top but
we still love you.) He introduced George Lopez who gave a heartfelt tribute to Freddie Prinze, showing clips of
the comic's career and snippets of episodes from Chico and the Man. Somehow, in George's speech, he managed to
reference the fact that he has one kidney and his wife gave it to him (is there anyone who hasn't heard this story yet?)
He announced the In2TV Influencer Award and handed the strangely shaped trophy to Freddie Prinze Jr. Freddie made a
brief speech, then Jose Feliciano was brought to the stage to play the Chico and the Man theme (with just a
bit of "Light My Fire" thrown in). The crowd was full of old favorites from the TV days of long ago. After
the jump, a few familiar faces.